Go Hard or Go Home: Fush and Chups

Go hard or go home: When you move overseas it’s not uncommon to pick up an accent. But when I moved to London, a Kiwi twang is definitely not what I expected to hear coming from my mouth.

I’ve been living and socialising with more Kiwis than I have Aussies since I arrived so I guess it was only a matter of time. It’s just the occasional word I utter from their strange, mixed-up accent – words used commonly around the house, mainly.

“B-e-n” (for bin), the “two-sex-sex” (when referring to the bus number 266) or “cheps” (instead of chips) are some of the words I’ve been unconsciously pronouncing incorrectly. This has come as a real delight to my Kiwi friends – another reason to take the piss out of their token Aussie friend.

I, on the other hand, am a little distressed and confused by it. How does this happen? I lived in Australia for almost 25 years – and have only been associating with Kiwis for about nine months – it just doesn’t make sense.

I’ve also started using some of their lingo, such as “cheers brew” (that’s bro, in case the translation failed) “mint” and “primo” – but I don’t have such a problem with new words. They just get thrown into the mix with London lingo like “proper”, “posh” and “well fit”.

I can put my own Aussie twist on them and keep my accent, thank you very much. To non-Antipodeans, this all might seem rather silly. Most of them seem to think we all sound the same.

In fact, some Antipodeans themselves have trouble differentiating between the two nations. But let me tell you, they are very different. I am confident I’ve caught it before it sticks as I’d like to stay true to my homeland – even if we do sound like a bunch of uneducated, half-witted yobbos.